Election

In the wake of Obama’s re-election to the presidency, citizens within 44 states have petitioned the White House for “peaceful” secession from the Union. One state, Oregon, even adds to the petition that they would remain an “ally” with the Union after secession. If you would like to peruse the current petitions to the White House, the link is right here.

The process for these petitions is quite simple. You log in, gather 150 signatures to make your petition “searchable,” and then gather 25,000 total signatures within 30 days of filing. If the 25,000 signature threshold is met within those 30 days, the White House will review the petition, send it to the correct policy committee, and then issue a decision.

A few unbiased observations:

Louisiana is the earliest of the filed petitions. Texas came shortly after. They have until December 7 to reach the 25,000 signature threshold. The most recent state to file is Iowa. They have until December 11.

A handful of states have already reached the required number of signatures. At the time I checked around 10:15pm on Tuesday, they were: Alabama (25,581 signatures), Florida (27,634 signatures), Georgia (26,286 signatures), Louisiana (32,162 signatures), Tennessee (25,293 signatures), Texas (92,070 signatures).

A few states have more than one petition on file. I’m not sure why this is. Those states are: Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina would have enough signatures to meet the requirement if their separate petitions were combined, but none of their separate petitions have enough right now as they are.

At the time I checked the site, the total number of signatures combined on all secession petitions was 670,953. That sounds like a lot. But the current US population is over 313 million, so that 670 thousand is a mere drop in the bucket.

A few (somewhat biased) thoughts:

What exactly do the signers of these petitions expect to happen when they are reviewed by the White House? What policy committee will they go to? Will the administration seriously consider allowing most, or even a few, of the states in this country to secede and become their own sovereign nations? Would they then be able to be allies with the US? I highly doubt it.

I’m not sure that the people who have signed these petitions really understand what the act of signing means. I do understand the frustration following this election. I’m not a fan of this current administration myself. But I am still American, and I’m not about to put my name on something declaring I no longer want to be a citizen of this country. I’m not a traitor.

Worst case scenario – this could lead to civil war. Last time states tried to secede from the Union, it didn’t work. Just a reminder.

Bottom line: I think this has crossed a line. I find it incredibly interesting that this has been a reaction to this election. I’m curious to see what happens once those 30-day signature deadlines come and go. Will the White House even acknowledge these petitions? How will they respond? Will this backfire big time?

I haven’t even touched on what a Christian response to this should be, but I don’t think revolt is the biblical response to tyranny, although it is a very American response. (Yes, there’s a difference.) I might dig into that in a later post. Sorry to touch that so lightly and leave it unexplored.

Thoughts? If you are conservative, did you sign one of the petitions? If so, what was your thought process? If you are conservative, did you decide not to? Why not? I’m curious to hear other conservative perspectives on this.

(I reserve the right to censor inappropriate, crass, rude, or irrelevant comments. Keep it appropriate and factual, guys.)

As you may know, I watched the election returns last night until the president-elect was announced as Obama. Then I went to bed. I captured some of my momentary, initial reactions in a brief blog post previous to this one. I would like to expand on some of my thoughts today.

Surprise

One of my biggest emotional responses last night right around 9:30 was surprise. It all happened so fast. I actually took a nap earlier in the evening, expecting to be up until 1 or 2 in the morning watching the returns. Hardly an hour after I awoke, it was all over.

At the beginning of my nap, I felt incredibly confident. Mitt had a solid and steady, though close, lead in both the popular vote and the electoral college. When I woke up, it had all changed, and changed quickly and drastically. We superstitiously joked at work this morning that I should not have taken that nap!

I really thought Mitt had it. All the polls I had followed for the past few weeks indicated he had an edge in the states that mattered. I was floored that our country voted O back in for four more years. It didn’t make sense. Majorities against his healthcare plan, disapproval ratings higher than Bush four years ago, a majority sentiment that our country is heading the wrong direction… it just didn’t make sense to me. Some of those numbers are here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/07/fox-news-exit-poll-summary/

It’s easy for me to blame fraud. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that the election was thrown, that judges cheated, that the Democrats bought out someone to tamper with the results. That may have happened, but I also realize I don’t have the evidence, so I can’t cling to that theory.

Deep Disappointment

My stomach sunk last night, and that sick feeling has lingered throughout the day. I still firmly believe that O is not the right choice for our country. I still strongly disagree with his policy, stance on social issues, foreign policy, economics, and leadership style.

I felt justified in my disapproval today when the DOW dropped over 300 points as a run on the stock market took place. Investors are pulling out their money and they are pulling a lot out very quickly in all areas of commerce except health (think: Obamacare). Here is a CNN article (of all sources) that explains some of the numbers: http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/07/investing/stocks-markets/index.html?hpt=hp_t2_7

Couple this with the fact that he will probably get to appoint at least one Supreme Court Justice during his next term, and a culture that legalized recreational marijuana in my own state (CO) as well as the first approval of same-sex marriage by a popular vote in our nation’s history (in Maine), I worry about the world we will eventually, hopefully, bring children into.

Sadness

I feel sad for our country. And even though, as you know, I am not a supporter of O, my sadness is not over his winning the election. It is over the response of Americans to this. Our nation is so incredibly polarized, I do not see how we will ever get anything worthwhile done. Somehow, after billions of dollars spent, untold campaign hours, deliberations, polls, and elections, we are almost exactly where we started two days ago. We have the same President and Vice. We still have a Republican led House and a Democratic led Senate. Nothing has changed. It’s still a gridlock.

I am stunned by some of the incredibly disgusting and hateful comments made by Democrats in victory. For example, http://twitchy.com/2012/11/07/sarah-palin-dont-lose-heart-conservatives-press-on-left-spews-hate/ Disclaimer, read this cautiously. This blog site pulls tweets from twitter and groups them in trends in response to an issue or incident. These quotes are uncensored, and rather vulgar. I’m also saddened by the emotional backlash of many “conservatives” in defeat. I don’t have a site like Twitchy with equally disgusting comments from the Right, but I’ve seen vengeful comments on Facebook and Twitter come from the Right as well. I’m not one to preach “love, love, love” without “Christ, Christ, Christ.” But I’m certainly one to call “foul” on such unbridled hate and loathing.

Looking Forward

What next? I pray I am dead wrong and that I eat my words. I want God to bless America. I hope Obama’s eloquent teleprompter promises for economic growth and better life come true. Yet, I remain skeptical.

How do I respond to this within myself, in faith? I know that God is sovereign and I know that He is good. I know He is jealous for the glory of His name, and He delights in providing for His children. I know He has installed evil tyrants, even over his own people, as well as providing peaceful leaders for times of prosperity. I pray He has mercy on our nation, but I also know the sins of our nation and understand His holy intolerance of our selfish immorality.

I am not one to judge the depths of Obama’s heart, but based on his fruit I doubt he is a Christian. Even so, God has allowed this man to be our President again, and He has His reasons. I need to put my hand over my mouth, be still, and trust in the God I claim to follow.

Even if the worst should happen – if the economy collapses, Christians are marginalized and persecuted, food and power and fuel run short, or our country is invaded or falls – still God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who came as Jesus, is my God.

And this God has commanded that I pray for my enemies and honor my leaders. I pray for Obama’s soul. I pray that God frustrates any of his plans that make a mockery of His law. I pray that God reshapes the man and brings good to His people through him.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever
Amen.